COLLEGEVILLE — The DeLuca name has been indirectly famous with serious hoagie hounds around here for a heck of a long while now.

But you probably know the father and son team of Fury and Christian DeLuca better by the South Philly brand they introduced to the area five years ago: Primo Hoagies.

Back then, the men from South Jersey took West Norriton by storm when their shop opened at the edge of the Valley Forge Marketplace on Egypt Road.

Four years later they were headed east to work up some similar alchemy when they took over an existing Primo store at Hillcrest Plaza shopping center in East Norriton.

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Now they’ve completed their Primo trilogy by venturing far west of their original location to a discreet little strip mall on Collegeville Road called Collegeville Retail Center, a couple of miles away from the Providence Town Center megalopolis.

Christian DeLuca recalled seeing some of the same faces at each of the Norriton stores, but now he’s serving an entirely new hungry population in the Collegeville area.

“I think people know what they’re getting when they come in because of the Primo name,” he said. “But it’s the ones who haven’t been in yet that we want to try and reach out to here.”

As Primo purists know, the real-deal, South Philly-style hoagie, courtesy of the Primo franchise ideology, starts with a delectably crusty roll that is not for the soft-hearted – until you chew your way into the sandwich and hit the softer interior, that is.

From there, building a Primo masterpiece involves piling on generous amounts of high-end Thumann’s meats.

Jump-started by a mom-and-pop operation at 15th and Rittner streets in Philadelphia 20 years ago, the chain is rippling through the Mid-Atlantic region at a fast clip, approaching 100 franchises.

Possible Southern domination is now in the picture as well, with new stores opening in Florida and Virginia.

DeLuca worried that over-saturation might knock some of the edge off the uniqueness of the product and the franchise.

“Primo is a destination place, where you can get high-quality, top-notch gourmet hoagies,” he said. “When I was growing up and finding out about Primo Hoagies, there were only about four of them around, and they were pretty much all in South Philly. We would drive from South Jersey to South Philly for these hoagies.”

It was always worth the half-hour ride, DeLuca remembered.

“We knew how good they were, and they were unique,” he said. “When we opened the Egypt Road store in 2008 there were no others around and we were killing it. We were always busy, and it was great, and that’s the way it should be. People were telling us they were driving from Reading to come to us.”

With the nearest Primo competition in Royersford, DeLuca has much of the Collegeville, Trappe, Lower and Upper Providence markets pretty well covered.

Loyal customers have been flocking to DeLuca’s store, which features the fresh new corporate model of bolder colors, bright wood flooring and granite counters, plus the enticements of generous coupon giveaways and the free samples he regularly delivers to nearby offices.

A new rewards program is also beefing up business.

“When you come in and buy a hoagie, you get a coupon right off the bat for 50 percent off your next Primo,” DeLuca said. “We give out rewards cards for key chains and regular rewards cards, and for every $10 you spend you earn three points. Once you reach 100 points you get $10 to spend here.”

No fewer than five variations of the Italian hoagie dominate the menu, but the top seller is still the classic Italian, with prosciutto, provolone cheese, hot capicola and Genoa salami, followed closely by the Reuben-esque Turkey Schwartzie, packed with turkey breast, Swiss cheese, cole slaw and Russian dressing.

The menu also boasts healthier fare that is lower in sodium and fat, and low-carb wraps, in addition to salads and other specialties.

“Our mindset was that someone else would take Collegeville if we didn’t,” DeLuca said. “We knew this area was booming and we liked the demographics, so we believe we made the right move. It will take some time for people to realize we’re here.”